Spring Break 2014

Today marked the end of Spring Break for our camp and I have to say I'm a tad bit bummed.  I gotta tell ya, it has been so nice to have the extra time with my Fab 4.  We actually got two weeks for Spring Break this year. Can't I get a Whoop Whoop!! I enjoy hanging out with my Fab 4 so much. Sometimes I wonder why I share them with the rest of the world, ever?  I suppose it wouldn't be healthy if I did keep them all to myself, like the mom in Tangled. "Mother knows best listen to your Mumzy!"  Ha ha, that song just popped into my head right now.  Scurry.  (Insert emoticon with a straight face and eyes wide open) 00 - Before you go calling CPS know that I have in FACT, been sharing my kiddos and plan to continue sharing them, it's just sometimes when I look at them I think that mom in the Disney movie Tangled might have been on to something. I digress. For the first part of our Spring Break we traveled to Paradise, CA. where my Aunt Linda and Uncle Gene live.

The above pic was taken from their front porch. I haven't been there in years because it was a bit too far to travel from WA. but from NV it's only about a 3 hour drive and I plan on making it lots more in the future. It was a wonderful time with family and my eldest Spawn even did some recording with her band called  In Between Simple. If I knew how to share the songs here believe me, I would but alas... I am just not that tech savy. I need to figure that out, because I am their biggest fan.  Gotta promote ya know !

While I was there, I drank out of that mug up there. It belongs to my Aunt Linda and it was my favorite mug in her cupboard because of the saying on it. I prayed that prayer the entire time I was there and hope to pray it the rest of my life.  "Lord help me to see thing through Your eyes!" I really do wish it was possible to keep that perspective all the time. So often I get caught up in things that don't really matter.  Things that in comparison to eternity, the bigger picture, just won't even register on my radar. Oh, to be always seeing things through the eyes of Jesus. Speaking of seeing things through Jesus eyes, the tail end of our Spring Break I had the immense pleasure of taking my girls to a Joyce Meyer Conference in Sacramento. (More on this later)

As long as I live on this planet there will never, ever be a better place for me than in the House of God with all His thousands of kids praising him. I love, love, love to hear the people of God come together and give glory to the King of Kings. 

There truly is nothing greater, except maybe seeing your children praise the King with all their hearts, souls, and minds.

I can't get over how my girls have grown and right before my eyes turned into two of my most favorite young women to hang out with. I love to hear how they think and what their dreams are. My cup overflows with joy for the memories we were able to make over the past two weeks.  And as they headed back out into the world today, I thought of how fast the time is flying by. They only have 59 more days of this school year. That's just nutts!!  Why do I torture myself with thoughts like this.  It's a snowball, one finished Spring Break turns into their Graduation which then turns into a Wedding Day, and so on and so forth. When they all stepped out of the car this morning... I might have shed a tear like the day when they first went off to Kindergarden.  I'm not gonna lie, I think I did. But, hey I warned you... I'm a sentimental heart. I can't help myself.  The important thing to remember is that I didn't lock them in a tower ;)

Holidays,Costumes,and Making Faces

We love the holidays around here. Well, let me rephrase that, My Fab 4 and I love the holidays. My Giant just kind of tolerates them. He's never been a big fan, but I think I have begun to grow on him(ya know it's only been like 19 years).  He got all excited about the "Pumpkin Spice Candle Season"coming like all the way back in September.  Picture this...  A Big, Grown, Giant man named Moses ... giddy over a candle.  Giddy. It was a sight to behold people, and I beheld it long and hard.

My favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving, but I really love them all. Starting with Halloween and ending with what I call, Happy LOVE day or Valentines Day as some other people like to call it. My Giant calls it "Hallmark Makes A lot of Money Day"- to which I say Bah Hum Bug! Clearly, I still have more work to do there.

So with Halloween approaching this year I have very mixed emotions. 

For one, my Fab 4 are so much bigger now and the holiday just doesn't seem the same without little ones running a muck, in cute little costumes that make your heart go pitter patter.

And then, 

In the past I have always had help in the costume making department. Thank you Momma Nash and Gram Ellen. But, recently I find myself on my own throwing stuff together for these creative Fab 4 kids who don't want just your average every day costume.

This year my oldest Em, doesn't want to dress up. 

Do you even know how sad this makes me? 

SO so Sad.

But I'm trying real hard to let this young lady be her own person so I'm not going to force the issue, but this is what my face looks like; 

OO

^

So sad.

Ok, but Chloe is going to dress up as a cupcake and that makes my face look like this;

OO

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Ha, ha sometimes I just crack myself up.

And then Solomon the one who is dressed as the giraffe up there, he wants to be Count Olaf from the Movie Lemony Snickets, Series of Unfortunate Events.

 Which makes my face look like this;

OO

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Did I ever tell you He was Charlie Chaplin one year and sadly I only have one fuzzy dark picture because,  My Maccy took a crapper last year and with that BIG CRAP he took all my pictures that weren't backed up. To which I say, CRAP FOR CRAP!!

And then Isaiah wants to be A Ninja 

or

Nacho Libre

or

A Wrestler Strong Man

or ....

Which makes my face look like this;

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Help me out people any ideas for Cupcakes, Count Olaf, and Ninja/Nacho/Strong Men??

The Zoo with My Monkeys

On Saturday it was a practically perfect day in every way.

Blue sky, No rain, Sun...
What better occasion to head out to, Woodland Zoo does one need?

We were smart in our timing of this outing because, I knew being that it was sunny day(practically perfect day) here in Seattle, that we would not be the only ones to have the brilliant idea to go to the zoo.

But, we are a family of big kids now who like to sleep in on the weekend. I knew that if we got there in the afternoon when all the families with lils would be heading home for nap time that we would be in good shape.

And sure enough, we got primo parking, and like I said it was a practically perfect day in every way.

Except... when you start to notice the depressed look that all the animals seem to have.

It makes me think of that movie, 12 monkeys with Brad Pitt. Who has seen it? It is a crazy movie where some crazy activist people let all the animals loose from the zoo. Good movie. It made me respect Brad Pitt as an actual actor.

Ok back to depressed animals. Has anyone else ever walked away from the zoo feeling sad? I wonder sometimes why my brain works like this, because like I said it really was a practically perfect day in every way, but somehow I felt sad for the animals.
Not enough to pull a 12 monkeys scenario, still it did leave me feeling a little bit more in the animal activist camp than I am on a regular basis.